CH32 - Pact of blood

{Early warning, the torture scene starts here. Skip to the next note that uses the same symbols as this message if you find it uncomfortable to read.}

[Lyon's POV]

"Now then, let's begin with a simple question. What is your name?" I asked him after placing his dismembered finger on one of the corners of the table. He starts writing down his answer, stopping a few seconds later as he watched with trembling eyes as I took the newspaper away from the table.

"Morine Yudai, It seems like you've been mixing in with the wrong crowd of people for someone whose name means "Great hero". Don't worry, I won't judge, we all have periods in our lives where we make stupid decisions though it seems yours ended up blooming later than usual." I told him after reading his name while poking at the irony of its meaning

"Ok then, Mr. Yudai, should I be worried about any retaliation from your other friends, or was it just you and those three other people?" I asked even though I already knew the answer to this question. I needed to see whether or not he was still capable of lying so asking him this type of question was crucial to figuring out whether or not his next answers would be reliable.

His hand remains motionless for a few seconds seemingly as if he was contemplating what answer he'd write down, he settles with writing down the words "No" and "Just us" as his answers which meant he wasn't planning on cooperating just yet. I released a sigh before pacing behind him as he began to erratically move in his seat, causing light but audible thuds to come from the legs of the chair that kept weakly slamming against the floor.

"I really don't like liars, Mr. Yudai so I'd recommend that you stop wasting my patience." I whispered into his ear before forcefully extending his ring finger out as he tried to clench his left hand into a fist. I placed my machete against the tip of his nail and began slicing upward, de-nailing his finger as he muffled out cries of pain.

I wait for his erratic movements to cease while watching small drops of blood falling to the floor as they mixed with the small puddle that came from his index finger which was now nothing more than a stump. His unsteady breathing somewhat eased up after a few seconds though it came back after I had pressed the wet blade of my machete against the middle of his ring finger.

"You know, most drama literature and movies would have us believe that physically tortured victims start to get numb to physical pain after being tortured enough. Well, if you're hoping for such a case to occur then I'm sorry to disappoint but... that's just a load of bullshit." I told him before slicing my blade down slowly, making sure that it was done unsteadily so that it'd feel as if his finger was getting mauled off by the small teeth of animals.

His second dismembered finger falls to the floor as it sprays out small amounts of blood at a steady pace like how a barely opened hose would, it weakens down to just small drops after a few seconds though the criminal's figure continued to quiver. I picked the finger up and tried to return to my previous position by walking through his left side as I began questioning him again.

"Well, I think they do form a bit of resistance to the pain but I doubt it'd work in this case so let's try that again shall we? How many more groups were se-" I tried to ask once more though my words came to an abrupt halt as he tried to stab me with the same ballpen I had given him earlier. His futile attempt is thwarted though by the fact that the ballpen was held with his right hand which was still cuffed to the drawer.

"Lyon!" Misako screams out in needless worry after her eyes noticed the first signs of his attempt coming to pass which causes me to glance in her direction, nodding my thanks before I turned my attention back to the uncooperative interviewee.

"Fine, maybe one finger per mistake is too nice." I answered back while narrowing my eyes as he stared into mine, my figure reflecting in his eyes while I looked at him with the clear expression of disdain that I had on my face. I went back to my slicing position and took out one of the small alcohol bottles that we had taken with us from the nurse's office on our college campus before I plucked his pinkie finger, de-nailing it before slicing it into small vertical pieces like how a person would with green onions before spraying it with alcohol just to exacerbate the pain he was going through.

I let it fall to the ground before using the blunt side of the blade to group it into one side before placing it against his thumb, slicing it horizontally instead into thin strips like Christmas ham before slicing it off of the hand by bringing my machete down the base of the finger itself while spraying another round of alcohol into the open wound. He pathetically continues to try and resist by closing his fist while racking the chair on both sides which caused light thuds to come from the floor it slammed against though it did nothing to hamper me from seizing the last finger he had on his left fist.

"Hm... hey Misako, can you go ask Ren for a hammer and a few nails? They should be inside of the toolbox of his bag." I told Misako after turning my gaze toward her while one of my hands continued to restrain the man's middle finger, taking note of the weird glint in her eyes that I only noticed after this torture session began while I watched her leave.

"You know, this would hurt a lot less if you were to answer my questions correctly. If you're thinking that the punishment for trying to fight back stops there, then you're sadly mistaken my friend." I voiced out in a joking manner while waiting for Misako to come back with the items that I had requested, picking out the rustiest one of the few nails after she had returned with the stuff that I had requested about a minute after. I then presented it to him with a mere few inches separating its pointy end from his left eye as I watched him shake in fear.

I take it back and pin it against the gap in between his nails and the flesh beneath it as he struggles in an attempt to look behind him, fruitlessly trying to dislodge his finger from my grasp at the same time. I made sure to watch Misako from the corner of my eye just to make sure she doesn't try to use the hammer against me instead before taking it away, making a weak "ting" sound by lightly tapping the nail's flat end to the hammer before I began to batter it inside.

The rusty piece of metal slowly pries his nails open as he seemingly tries to muffle out pleas of both mercy and apology while erratically shaking his head from side to side. I ignore his attempts entirely, further slamming the nail inside of the small space before it horizontally pierced through the finger itself as the rusty end went through his warm and paling flesh.

I then reversed the hammer and placed the metal nail's round tip inside of the gap formed by the two sides of the hammer's claw which were slightly separated from each other. I half-heartedly pull the nail out which causes a small squirt of blood to somehow reach the side of my cheek which slowly flowed down as I finally noticed how the man's head was motionlessly tilted to the side.

"Damn, I guess we'll have to wait for him to wake up before we could ask any more of our questions." I voiced out before sighing in resignation before noticing how the front side of the prisoner's tracksuit pants was wet with liquid, a few drops of yellow managing to go through the very wet fabric before it dropped to the floor. I then turned my gaze to Misako who was watching the scene in front of her with intrigue before she turned her gaze to me.

"Let me have a go at it." She tells me before moving past me as she went closer to the prisoner whose head was facing the flood below him. She then goes behind the man and pulls up the man's frizzy hair which forced him to "look" in my direction instead, she then whacks the palm of her hand against his face multiple times while making sure to hit just slightly above the rag that kept the man gagged.

"Wake. Up. You. Piece. Of. Human. Trash." She voiced out as each word was accompanied by the sound of her slapping, a weak mumble escaping his gagged mouth as his barely opened eyes turned their attention toward me. She then stops after hearing it before moving away, causing me to snort out in amusement while I was watching her actions.

{This is where the torture ends, sorry if that scene caused anyone to feel uncomfortable :< .}

"Welcome back to the world of the living Mr. Yudai. I think we'd both rather not have to go through and experience what you just did for the second time so how about you start cooperating, hm?" I asked him while watching his handcuffed hand shakily grab the ballpen that had been left on top of the table, taking the pieces of newspaper away as I read the words "Yes" written on one of the empty boxes of the word puzzle.

"That's good, let's go back to finish the interview then." I told the man with a smile on my face as I began asking him a few questions while sheathing my machete in front of him as a show of confidence. We spent the next hour and a half just going through whatever question I could think of, Misako didn't need to ask the man the question she had in mind anymore as we coincidentally both wanted to ask it.

We would have finished this interview of ours had the man not been fading in and out of consciousness though the reason for it is understandable as he was probably shocked and in pain but I couldn't care less about what he felt. I also made sure to ask him the same questions every now and again just to make sure his answers are always in line with his past ones which they were.

"Yoime City Medical Center huh... I'm guessing that's your destination as well then?" I asked Misako who stood beside me which causes her to look at me in silence as if she was contemplating what to answer. I had come to this conclusion after watching how her expression changed after I had read the prisoner's answer aloud after I asked him which hospital he was referring to.

"... Yes, why do you ask?" Misako answered with curiosity that was present in each word that came out. I had asked him how many people were in their group and each time he'd always answer the number 125 so it was the best lead we had in regards to how large the opposition we were facing in the first place.

'Damn, we barely managed to dent their numbers even after killing 7 of them, and that's already including this sleeping prisoner of ours.' I thought to myself while looking at the criminal who had somehow lulled himself into sleep after we had stopped asking our questions. This means they have 118 people though that number isn't a correct estimation either since I'm sure a few if not many of them died while taking the hospital if they even managed to succeed in the first place.

"Because we'd need as much help as possible to accomplish our own goals. Both of our goals overlap with each other which means helping the other out would be the same as helping ourselves." I told her after organizing the 3 pages of newspaper word puzzles that I was holding onto, each one having answers to various questions.

"... Don't you think it's unwise to trust us after what Hoga had done?" Misako asks, her expression seeming to lighten after hearing my explanation though it was quickly dulled after she had asked her question. I had prided myself to be a logical person in the past but it was as if there was an intangible voice that kept giving me sweet and calming whispers that served to convince me in trusting this white-haired woman in front of me.

"I don't trust Hoga but you were trying to help me back in the car, remember?" I reminded her as scenes of that memory played inside of my mind. The anger that was present in her voice while trying to stop Hoga from continuing his moronic conduct wasn't false, or at least it was genuine enough to evade any doubts I could direct towards it.

"I see... well, if you're fine with it then I would gladly accept your proposal of mutual assistance." She tells me with a metaphorically blinding smile as she reached out her hand toward me, the sudden formal tone surprising me for a few seconds before our two hands connected in a handshake. I had yet to clean the dried blood off of my hands though she seemed to not care much about it, meaning we had just formed a "pact of blood" though the fact that it was the blood of a criminal didn't matter much.

"I'll have to remind you though, we're gonna have to keep Hoga restrained." I told her though she didn't seem apprehensive at all at the thought of us doing it. She nodded with ease since she probably understood and didn't find fault in the reasons why we were keeping her cousin in such a manner.

"Hey Misako, I'm gonna ask a question and it's up to you to decide on whether or not you wish to answer. Are you fine with that?" I asked Misako as our two hands parted from one another, she replies to my inquiry with a nod before turning her gaze to the prisoner as she waited for me to ask my question. "I might be overthinking things but why does it seem as if you don't care about your cousins?"

I'd assume most people would act irrationally towards the harming of people they deem their families regardless of whether or not said family member was at fault the entire time. Such irrationality wasn't present in how she continued to interact with me so it slightly irked me since from what I understood, she opted to help her cousins reach the supposed evacuation center in the academy, and yet she didn't seem to care much when I harmed Hoga or when Higashi died.

'She wasn't crying when Higashi died and there was not a single shred of hesitation to be found in her actions when I had asked them to leave Higashi on the pavement.' I thought to myself while watching her open her mouth for a few seconds before closing again, not a single word managing to leave them. She could, of course, just be that mature and understand how leaving Higashi's body behind was the best choice but logic and familial care don't usually get along in most cases.

"I... well... I guess it's because I never really grew close to them. They are my cousins from my mother's side of the family but our parents never really got along with each other since the family didn't support my mother's relationship with my father." She told me with a distant gaze even though we were inside a carwash that didn't have a single window to look through.

"I only started interacting with them a month ago after my stay in Russia was abruptly halted. Their mother and father had died a few months ago in a car accident while I was in Russia and my mother had been taking care of them ever since. Higashi and Hoga act... distant most of the time but Amaya is a very cute ball of sunshine." She continued to explain as a smile found its way to her face while reminiscing over memories.

"I see... you used the word abrupt in your return here. Why is that?" I asked another question though it was more or less just an attempt at small talk. The biggest question that was gnawing at me had already been answered so any more questions were just me poking around while getting information that was of no real use to me.

"My father died during one of the hunting trips he had with his friends." She quickly answers which causes me to attempt to voice out my apologies for poking at what may have been a sensitive subject for her though she quickly dismissed it with a shake of her head. "It's fine I've already grieved and he died in the company of his friends with a smile on his face, I'm sure he has no regrets about the way he left this world."

"I see, so he had a peaceful death alongside his friends then?" I asked while being reminded of the fact that such a death would probably be one of the best outcomes for people who lived through this initial stage of the virus. It was selfish in a way, they'd be leaving the world and lose whatever obligation they carried towards caring for the living which meant they'd be leaving everybody else but who are they to complain about how life and death work?

"No, he died fighting a bear in an impromptu boxing match after gulping down four bottles of vodka, or at least that's how his friends and video recorder saw it." She quickly interjects which causes both my physical expression and thoughts to pause for a few seconds as I found myself imagining such an event. A man wearing thick winter camo clothes hitting a bear with an uppercut with empty bottles of vodka scattered around a thick blanket of snow beneath the two brawling figures.

"... Really?" I asked to which she replied with a hearty and beautiful laugh which was a complete contrast to how I'd first thought of her since she seemed similar to Alyssa in the cold aura she oozed out when we first met in the gas station. She then placed her hand over where her heart should be and pledged that no lies were told in the weird yet somehow believable story of her father's death.

We spent the next 25 minutes just getting to know each other more through small talk as she asked her questions about me. It isn't like I had anything that could beat something like a boxing match between a bear and a human so time went by rather quickly which I only noticed after looking at my phone's clock which told me that it was already 11:45 PM.

"Ah, I should go wake Chisato up." I voiced out to no one in particular after stretching my body after I stopped leaning against the rear side of the car which we had opted to place our backs against during the midst of our chat.

"What do we do with the prisoner though?" Misako needlessly asks while watching me move closer to the prisoner's sleeping pale figure, I then unsheathed my machete and slammed its blade against the back of his head which quickly killed him in his sleep. The blade embedded itself quite deeply though I managed to pry it out after applying a bit more effort.

"Hey, can you go and try to find the keys to the car? Some people leave them behind with car wash employees so they'd clean the inside as well." I asked Misako while I began untying the rags that kept the man's dead body secured to the chair, his body falling to the floor with a light thud as Misako handed me two sets of keys a few seconds later before she began placing dry rags over dried blood stains on the floor.

I tuck one of them away and use the other to unlock whichever car this key was meant for, causing the rear and front lights of the car to flash on a few times before stopping altogether. I drag the body to it with Misako's help and shove it inside of the second row of chairs before doing a quick search of the car though there was nothing worth taking other than a few packs of gum which was kept in a small compartment behind the car's stick shift.

I dismissed the thought of searching the other car for tomorrow morning as we made our way back to the breakroom before I shook Chisato awake from her slumber. Both Ren and Chisato were using their bags as makeshift pillows, Hoga and Amaya used couch cushions as a futon while Alyssa slept on the couch itself as Misako followed Chisato and Ren's way of sleeping.

"There's no need to guard outside, just make sure to watch over our new "allies" since we can't fully trust them just yet." I whispered to her after she had thrown away any sign of the previously present drowsiness she had. I then leaned my body against the couch's armrest and allowed myself to be lulled into sleep while making sure that my grip was tightly wrapped around my rifle.

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AN: This chapter is basically just half-torture and half-"comedy", I'm not really sure if other people would find Misako's conversation with Lyon trying to form a bridge of trust while getting to know each other through reminiscing about past memories like the bear-man boxing match to be funny but I personally thought it was. D: